A re-finding system helps users retrieve the same documents or websites which they found in the previous searches. A re-finding system generally retrieves the same documents or websites in the same way as the previous searches, i.e., by typing in keywords and conducting a search that matches a previous search.
A much simpler technology to retrieve the same documents or websites found in the previous searches is directed to bookmarks. A typical example of bookmarks is the “favorite” folder incorporated in Internet Explorer browser. Bookmarks allow the user to have more control than a re-finding system, but require more manual effort. Specifically, bookmarks can be organized into topics and hierarchies, which enable users to navigate to the content they previously added into the bookmarks, without having to sift through large volumes of irrelevant content. However, organizing bookmarks requires additional manual effort.
Another common technology is “browser history”, which is a function included in major web browsers. The “browser history” allows users to sift through all the websites they visited during a particular time interval. However, the users need to take considerable time and effort to find the desired content, because the browser history generally only shows names of the websites, and it is organized by time instead of content.